Sanitary washable fly swatter



Sept, 24, 1935. c. E. TURNQUIST SANITARY WASHABLEV FLY SWATTER Filed Mayl5, 1935 Patented Sept. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SANITARY WASI-IABLE FLY SWATTER Carl E. Turnquist, San Gabriel, Calif.

Application May 15, 1933, serial. No. 671,083

6 Claims.

My invention relates to fly swatters, and more particularly to those ofthe sanitary and washable type, and which have no objectionableprotrusions, and at the same time great flexibility in all directions,as Well as great durability, theY surfaces of which are imperforate, itbeing impossible to mar or injure the surfaces Vwith which it may comein contact when used, it being irnpossible in ordinary use to break, asis the case with known swatters, said flexibility and durability beingretained indefinitely.

AIt accordingly is an object of my invention to provide a novel form ofswatter comprising a body of any preferred shape or contour and of anydesired thickness, means in the form of a suitable filler beingprovided, which may be of any preferred material, such as aninexpensive, imperforate paper, card board, cloth and the like, of anypreferred number of layers, combined distending spring or resilientmeansbeing associated with said material in any preferred way, a suitablecover, whichV may be of sanitary and pref erably smooth and Washablematerial being posie tioned over said material and secured thereto as inpractice desired as by stitching or otherwise, and preferably forming aperipheral pocket to housevan additional distending spring or resilientmeans, whereby the swatter is retained in shape, and at the same timeprovide a rigid and flexible swatter, said body being associated in anypreferred Way with a suitable stem and handle, which may also beflexible, for manipulating the same. It will, of course, be understoodthat I may provide a Vcover for my novel swatter vof any preferredcolor, such as may be preferred by a housewife or user to harmonize withthe color of the rooms, to make said swatter attractive, said color, ifdesired, may be the same as that of the stem and handle.Y Y

. If desired, I may assemble the body part of my novel swatter bysimultaneously stitching an edging, which may be in the form of a biastape, together with a peripheral resilient means, such as piano or otherwire, to said body to hold Vthe, same to shape, which may be any inpractice suggested.

The peripheral wire, such as used in the pre#V ferred form of myinvention, if preferred, Vmay not be positioned Within a pocket but mayengage internally of the body of the swatter against such a pocket, yorsaid pocket may be entirely omitted.

If desired, also, I may make the cover of myV swatter of transparentmaterial, so that advertisin'g matter may be inserted therebelow insidethe body of the swatter, so said matter may be rendered visibletherethrough.

It is also Within the province of my invention to omit the filter orpad, and provide a bias binding for the body of the swatter in which maybe inserted in any preferred Way the resiilent or spring or other meansto provide the desired exibility and rigidity'. Y

I may also use a metal cloth, such as a wire screen, reinforced bysuitable at spring means, 10 or a flat or other spring means may bewoven into said Wire screen as in practice preferred.

If preferred, also, I may provide a suitable combined guide and labelwhich may bear advertising material, which guide may be positionedWithin the body of my novel form of swatter, said guide facilitating theintroduction of an intermediate resilient means, after the various partsof said body have been secured together.

The above and further objects and advantages of my invention, as willhereinafter more fully appear, I attain by the construction described inthe specification and illustrated on the drawing, forming a part of myapplication.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawing, in which similar referencecharacters denote similar parts. In the drawing,

Fig` 1 is an elevational view of one form of my invention, parts beingbroken away to disclose the internal construction, 0

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view, taken on the line`33, Fig.1,

Y Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are more or less diagrammatic viewsof alternativeconstructions of intermediate resilient or spring means for adding tothe ilexibility and rigidity of the'deviee, and

V Fig. '7 is a similar view, illustrating a combined guide and labelwhich may be used to introduce the intermediate resilient or springmeans within 40 the body of the swatter after said body has beenassembled.

Describing my invention more in detail, I provide a body or body portion2 of any suitable shape or form, and which body may be composed of` oneor more layers of ller material 4, which may be of'fabric of any desiredkind, inexpensive absorbentV material and the like, cut to the desiredform orshape in any way in practice Asugy gested.

Positioned above and below said filler material 4 are the cover pieces6, which pieces may be of -anysuitable smooth'material, butrpreferablyof the Washable type, and may be of fabric, which may have a rubberizedand cellulose base, and

may be of varying colors, affording an attractive appearance, whichcolors, for example, may be selected to harmonize with the appointmentsof a room, so as to appeal to the housewife or user, as is the case inoillces, hospitals or other institutions. Thus, by being washable, theswatter will in no way become unsightly and unsanit-ary.

To add to the rigidity of the body 2, and also to increase itsflexibility and insure an indenite life of the swatter, I may provide aperipheral resilient or spring means 8, which may take the form of pianoor other wire, as shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 3, or saidmeans may be flat, and constructed of any material in practice suggestedor preferred.

The peripheral resilient or spring means 8 may be applied to the body 2in any manner in practice preferred. If desired, I may use a bias tapeI0, which may be stitched or otherwise secured to the cover pieces 6 andthe l-ayers of illler material 4, providing a peripheral channel throughwhich the wire or means 8 may be pushed, so that the ends thereof may beassembled in the manner and by the means presently to be described.

If desired, also, the tape I0 and the wire 8 may be simultaneouslyapplied to the periphery of the body 2, as in practice preferred. It maybe stated, also, that the wire 8 may be tempered, so that its life maybe increased, and all possibility of snapping thereof reduced to aminimum as the swatter is used in practice.

It will also be obvious that the filler material 4 may be omitted, ifpreferred, the peripheral wire or distending means 8 being sufficient toprovide for flexibility and rigidity, said wire or means beingpositioned within the channel formed by the bias tape or edging I0.

To make the swatter still more eilicient in use, I may provide a meansto add to the rigidity and flexibility of the body 2 by supplying anintermediate resilient or spring means I2, which I have shown moreparticularly in Figs. 1 and 2 as composed of two parts, but obviouslythere may be more than two provided, or even one, and still remainwithin the province of my invention.

'I'he intermediate means I2 may be provided with inwardly bent endportions I4, to facilitate the introduction of said means within thebody 2, which is preferably, although not necessarily done after thebody 2 has been assembled, by pushing the same through the opening I6(Fig. 1) between the cover pieces 6, after which said opening may bestitched or otherwise secured together as shown in said ligure.

The bent portions I4 are also useful to engage the inner periphery ofthe channel I0, after the wire 8 has been positioned therein, so as toincrease the rigidity and flexibility of the body 2. It will also beunderstood that the intermediate means I2 may take a variety of forms,such as being crossed, in the form of a figure 8, a loop, V-shaped, orin any other way in practice preferred.

After the body 2 has been assembled and the parts thereof securedtogether, as more particularly shown in Figs. l and 3, the protrudingends of the wires 8 and I2 may be secured together in any way inpractice preferred, and may be associated, as desired, with anypreferred form of manipulating means, which may be a suitable handle,wooden, composition, or metallic, and any form in practice suggested.

In Fig. 1 I have disclosed a ferrule or sleeve I8 surrounding the endsof the protruding Wires 8 and I2, Within which, also, may be secured oneend of a stem 20, which stem may be of any preferred length and may haveits other end 22 form part of a suitable handle 24, which handle may beformed of an elongated loop 28, to which the end 22 may be secured by abent end 28, and another loop 38, the ends of which handle may besecured together with the stem 20 by means of another sleeve 32.

Obviously, such a construction is suggestive 1 merely, and the ends ofthe handle 24 may be secured to the stem 20 by means of the ferrule orsleeve 32, by crimping, spot welding, or said ends and stem may beassociated in any manner in practice suggested. 1;

In Figs. 4-6, I have shown alternative forms of intermediate resilientmeans, which in Fig. 4 may take the form of a single flat means I2', inFig. 5, a V-shaped flat means I2, and in Fig. 6 and cross means I2. 2

In Fig. 7 I have shown a convenient means for inserting the intermediateresilient means I2 within the body 2, that may comprise a combined guideand label means 34, the guide 36 of which is positioned within the body2, so as to be engaged 2 by the means I2 as it is inserted within thechannel IB and the body 2, the portion 38 providing a means upon whichadvertising matter may be placed, said label being secured, if desired,to the protruding ends of the wires 8 and I2. 3

If preferred, also, I may use metallic cloth, such as a wire screen,using therebetween the resilient or spring means of any desiredcharacter; and further, to weave said means into a single piece of saidmetallic cloth.

35 Attention is also directed to the fact that the cover pieces of thebody 2 may be provided with suitable advertising material, and saidpieces being of smooth material, and that the illler material beingabsorbent, soft and flexible, the swat- 4 ter will in no way harm or marthe material, such as tables, draperies etc., upon which the ily orother insect is swatted, said ily or insect being in no way crushed, thesaid cover pieces and filler material being porous, wind resistance Willbe 4 negligible, and no hard blow need be struck.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I havedescribed the principle of operation of my invention together with theapparatus which I now consider to represent the best em- 5 bodimentthereof; but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown isonly illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by othermeans.

I claim as my invention:

55 1. In a fly swatter, a swatter body composed of layers of flexiblematerial, a cover of washable material surrounding said material,peripheral means for distending said body, means internally of saidcover for adding to the rigidity and 6 flexibility of said body, andmeans connected to said body for manipulating said swatter.

2. In a ily swatter, a body composed of layers of flexible lllermaterial, and front and rear layers forming a cover for said filler,spring means 6 in said body for distending the periphery of said body,additional spring means for distending the inner portions of said body,means for connecting the parts of said body together, and meansconnected to said body for swatter.

3. A fly swatter comprising a body composed of layers of flexiblematerial, a, cover for said material, flexible metallic meanssurrounding the manipulating said 70 periphery of said material andengaging internally the periphery of said corren-additional metallicmeans in said body, and positioned within the connes of said rst namedmetallic means for adding to the flexibility and rigidity of said body,means for holding the parts of said body'together, and means connectedto said body for manipulating said swatter.

4. In a fly swatter, a body composed of one or more layers of fillermaterial, cover pieces for covering said material, peripheral resilientmeans positioned internally of said body, additional resilient means insaid body and positioned within the connes of said peripheral resilientmeans, means for securing said material and said cover pieces together,and a handle secured to said body for manipulating said swatter.

5. In a fly swatter, a body composed of one or more layers of llermaterial, cover pieces for said body, peripheral resilient means andedging stitched together and to the periphery of said body for holdingsaid material'and said cover pieces together, intermediate resilientmeans positioned within the connes of said peripheral resilient means,for adding to the flexibility and rigidity of said body, and meansassociated with said body for manipulating said swatter.

6. In a fly swatter, a body composed of one or more layers of llermaterial, cover pieces for said body, peripheral resilient means forholding said body in shape, means for securing said material, said coverpieces and said peripheral means together, a combined guide and labelassociated with said body, said guide being positioned Within said body,intermediate resilient means positioned in said body Within the confinesof said peripheral resilient means, said guide being flat and extendingsubstantially the width and length of said swatter to facilitate theintroduction of said intermediate resilient means within said body aftersaid body has been secured together, and means connected to said bodyfor manipulating said swatter.

CARL E. TURNQUIST.

